Why Pray?
Matthew 6:1-13
Prayer is meant to be at the heart of a relationship to Jesus. In our Scripture today, Jesus assumes you are already praying. He doesn’t say IF you pray but WHEN you pray. Last week, we learned that Jesus is directing the Sermon on the Mount to hypocrites. The Greek word for hypocrite means stage actor. It’s a person pretending to be someone you’re not. Hypocrites in this case would be religious people who are sincere but are just talking the talk and not walking the walk. Now why is prayer so important? We’re not called to religion, we’re called to a relationship with Christ. And any relationship is built and strengthened through communication and with God, that’s prayer.
The greatest need that you and I have in our lives is to know God in a deep and intimate relationship. The Psalmist put it this way “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you dear God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1. Blaise Pascal, the French physicist in the 17th century, said: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which can’t be filled by any created thing, but only by God the creator, made known through His Son Jesus Christ.” It’s important that we all recognize this thirst because we attempt to quench it with many other things: relationships, material belongings, financial security and even religion. Religion focuses on religious practices, rules, observances, and traditions, all in an effort to find favor with God. And even though we may be sincere in our religion, it is inadequate to satisfy this thirst to know God.
Moses knew God and experienced the power of God in incredible ways. Think about the burning bush or the 10 plagues that God worked through Moses to convince Pharaoh to let His people go or the parting of the Red Sea or receiving the Ten Commandments. Yet despite all of this, Moses still isn’t satisfied. Moses said, “God, can I just ask you for one thing? I want to see your face.” We want to know God, and nothing else will substitute or satisfy our thirst.
Jesus addresses several keys to effective prayer. First, carefully choose the place you pray. Think of this past week and identify places and times where and when you prayed. In the car, bathroom, work, bed, in front of your computer, at the dinner table? In a sense, Jesus is making the point that many of us are so busy that we don’t really get focused on our prayer relationship with God until we are in a formal public place like a worship service. In this passage, we see a Pharisee praying on the street corner, a common practice in Jesus’ time. Orthodox Jews continue a similar practice today, praying wherever they are three times a day —9 in the morning, noon, and 3 in the afternoon and that’s often publicly. Now, Jesus isn’t knocking tradition because they can give us focus and discipline in our lives. They can also be powerful times of prayer. Remember the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, which occurred as they gathered at 9 am for prayer? Powerful things happen when we come together to pray, so Jesus is not knocking formality or tradition.
But if that is the only time you pray, then you’re missing out on the relationship Jesus wants to have with you. We have to go beyond public times of prayer to private times. Some of your Bibles translate Jesus’ words this way: “go into your closet and pray.” Literally it means to go into a room with no windows, in other words, a place where no one will see you but your heavenly Father. This is the place where you can be yourself and share all of your hopes, your fears, and your sins. So find a place where you can be alone with God without any people or any distractions.
Second, check your view of God. One of the reasons we struggle with prayer is our image of God. Many of us have a view of God as an angry and vengeful judge who is just waiting to judge us. That image has also crept into some of our Christian literature and art throughout the ages. The result is that we feel guilty when we come to God and are hesitant to name our sins. Thus, it’s easier not to confess our sins or to avoid prayer altogether. Jesus shared a distinctly different view of God. In the Lord’s Prayer, he addresses God using the word “Abba” which is what a young child would use as a term of endearment or affection towards their father, like “Daddy.” God is not a God of judgment and vengeance but one of love, forgiveness and acceptance.
Remember the story of the Prodigal Son? The son demanded his inheritance from his father and then left and squandered it on women, parties and friends. He runs out of money, a famine hits and he becomes destitute and hungry. He finally comes to his senses and decides to go home, confess his sins and ask to be a servant in his father’s house. Yet his Father, who represents Abba God, rather than judging and being vindictive, runs to the son when he sees him returning from afar, embraces him and welcomes him back home with lavish love. This is the image of God that Jesus wants us to have, a God who throws his arms around us when we turn to him and confess our sin. He’s forgiving, he’s restorative, he’s not willing that any should perish.
Third, make it a priority. Jesus exceeded the three official times of Jewish prayer. He prayed all times of the day, especially when he was in some of his busiest times of ministry. When Jesus fed 5000 men, which would represent about 15,000 people with wives and children counted, that was a major event! Anyone would be exhausted after that and ready to kick up their feet. But instead, Jesus dismissed his disciples after a long workday, and went up on a mountain by himself to pray. Jesus showed again and again in the rhythms of his life before ministry and prayer. You see, prayer is important because God is a God of relationships. God created you for himself. God created you to be in relationship with you. In fact, Jesus calls us “friend.” “I no longer call you servants, because servants don’t know what their master’s business is all about. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father, I have made known to you.” God’s doesn’t holding anything back. God not only wants to hear from us, He wants to tell us things and talk with us, communicate. So we have to have times where we turn off the noise. We need to unplug from the distractions because prayer is listening to God also. Now you know friendship involves intentional communication. God calls us to communicate with him in prayer but for that to happen, it has to be a priority. You’ve got to make the time, no matter what is going on in your life. For we are to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:18
Fourth, pray conversationally. We don’t need to be formal in prayer. I remember Wednesday night dinners at the church my Dad pastored when I was growing up. We would gather at 6:30 and they would always ask my Dad to say the blessing. And my Dad would just start to pray on the spot some of the most beautiful prayers I’ve ever heard. It was almost like listening to poetry or Shakespeare. Now don’t get me wrong. These were heartfelt prayers, powerful prayers and moving prayers. I remember one time a church member coming up to my Father and telling him how beautiful his prayers were and that she could never learn to pray like that. And my Dad graciously said thank you and then said to her, “You don’t have to pray like me, just talk to God like you’re talking to me right now.” And that’s what Jesus is saying! Don’t use a lot of words or flowery images. Just talk to God as you would your best friend, because that’s who you are, a friend of God and what he wants to be your best friend in life.
Fifth, pattern your prayers after the Lord’s Prayer. There are Christians who refrain from praying the Lord’s Prayer because they consider it to be misused. Rather than Jesus intending it to be a prayer we pray verbatim, they believe it is meant to be a template or guide for our prayers. This is why Jesus says, “Pray then LIKE this…” There are six petitions or things we are to ask of God in accordance with the Lord’s Prayer. The first three have to do with our relationship to God. The last three have to do with ourselves. That order is important because before we ever ask for anything ourselves, we should start off first focusing on God. So the first thing Jesus teaches us is that prayer starts with God and then moves to us. When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, you are already asking for things which God wants to do. God knows that you need them and that is why we are to pray for and ask for them. If the Lord’s Prayer is meant to be a guide for us, then what should we pray for? First, start with praising God and reminding ourselves of His holiness, “Hallowed by Thy name.” The second and third thing we should be praying for is the Kingdom of God to be established and for God’s will to be done here on earth. Only after you have praised God and asked for the things of God do you turn to praying for yourself. There are three things we should ask for. First is for your daily bread, which is to pray for your daily physical needs. Second is to ask for forgiveness, remembering that the forgiveness we receive is linked to the forgiveness we offer to others. And lastly, pray for God’s leadership in your life. “Lead us …” Pray to withstand temptation and to lead a life of holiness. Now compare that list to how you normally pray. How are you doing in praying as Jesus wants you to? This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of what you are to pray for but these are the things you should start praying for before you move to your other requests.
Finally, Jesus says God knows your needs before you ask him. Doesn’t that make prayer so much easier? God knows everything. When I was a kid, I never had to ask my Dad for shelter, food, clothing, toiletries or even toys. In fact, many times I would walk into my bedroom and there would be some new clothes sitting on my bed. I asked my mom about it and she said, “You needed some new shirts and pants.” You see, my Father knew what I needed, sometimes even before I knew it. The same is true for your heavenly Father. You’re not going to surprise God. Your requests won’t shock him or catch him off guard. So just ask!
Don’t you think that somebody who loves you like this, who cares enough to listen to you, who calls you his friend, the bride of Christ, will answer you? In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says that you are to ask, seek and knock. Everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds and everyone who knocks, the doors will be opened. This is why we can approach God with confidence in prayer because if we ask anything according to his will, he hear us. And if he hears us and it is His will, we have already received it. Do I know if it is God’s will to bless you? You bet I do! So all I have to do when I ask is to thank God. Do I know if it’s God’s will that my children walk in all of his ways? I sure do. We have to take seriously talking with God and building our relationship with Him because the effective prayer of the righteous person (that is, praying what is already God’s will) shall accomplish much.” James 5:16 Amen
